


Fantasy Is Reality in the Right Person's Arms

by Jinx13GXA



Series: Fairy Tail Rare Pairs week 2020 [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dorks in Love, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Girls in Love, Hurt/Comfort, Juvia is shy, Lisanna is really good at comforting people, Natsu has anxiety, Natsu helps clean up the guild at night, SOFT GAYS, Trans Female Character, the strauss siblings are fam goals, trans Juvia, wlw, you can't tell me he doesn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24073093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinx13GXA/pseuds/Jinx13GXA
Summary: Juvia's thoughts are taken over by memories of her horrible childhood whilist thinking about how much better off she is in Fairy Tail. She does her best to hide how these memories affect her from Lisanna, who shows her concern. After all, Juvia thinks it's better to suffer in silence than to risk loosing everything.
Relationships: Elfman Strauss & Lisanna Strauss & Mirajane Strauss, Juvia Lockser/Lisanna Strauss, Natsu Dragneel & Mirajane Strauss
Series: Fairy Tail Rare Pairs week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736026
Kudos: 17





	Fantasy Is Reality in the Right Person's Arms

It had been awhile since Juvia had felt comfortable enough in her own skin to relax. Phantom had not been a place where you show any sort of weakness to those around you, and it had taken her a long time to see that Fairy Tail wasn’t like them. They were open and kind and soft. They spoke to one another freely even if they brawled just as fierce. They felt and acted like one big family, and it was a completely new experience for her. 

Juvia frowned slightly as the horrible memories of her parents surfaced. She had spent years locked in the basement, resented for being “cursed.” She knows now that they didn’t care for her, but back then… Back then she had truly believed that they loved her and that every slap was just their funny way of showing it. It wasn’t until she was finally allowed to leave the house that she understood just how wrong she was. She had seen the way those at school acted around their parents—They hugged them and were kissed on the forehead, some even got praise—and that had been what made her question it. 

She spent years buried in romance novels after that, only escaping when trapped inside them.

Then Josè had brought her to Phantom when her parents were finally arrested. She thought it would all change, that she'd finally have friends, and maybe even a family, but the world only proved to be crueler when she was shoved under the bus for being an “ugly” girl who believed in fantasies. She fought hard for her place in the element four, and she was proud of it. She had proved herself to be strong, and now that she sat here with Fairy Tail, she had proven that her dreams weren’t fantasies. 

She took a sip of the beer that cana handed her, not really interested in what all was happening around her—she never took part in the brawls. She tried not to snort as Elfman went flying. She didn’t know if it was Gray or Natsu who had done it, but it was certainly still amusing. There was the click of a plate on the bar behind her, but when she turned to say her thanks, she was met with the younger Strauss rather than the older one. “Oh, thank you, Lisanna-san.”   
  
“It’s no problem, Juvia!” Her smile was as bright as her personality, and even though Juvia was happy here, she didn’t think she’d ever reach that level of happiness. At least, not while she was still so unhappy with herself. “I hope you enjoy it!”   
  
Juvia watched as Lisanna went back into the kitchen, hurrying to squish the small bit of jealousy that welled up. Lisanna was pretty and strong and she had never had to work to earn those titles the way Juvia had, but Juvia hated thinking that way. She hated the way of thinking Phantom tried to instil in her. Strong people were not to be hated and crushed, they were to be looked at as an inspiration. Even though it had been almost a year, she still had to correct her toxic way of thinking at times. 

The sound of the brawl only got louder and louder behind her as she ate. She wanted to go home, where she could speak her thoughts aloud and pick them apart, pulling the toxicity from them piece by piece until she was satisfied with the fixes. She kept that thought in her mind as she ate, unaware of how thoroughly she had actually zoned out. “Juvia? You okay?”   
  
Juvia jolted, head whipping upwards to look at Lisanna, whose face was full of soft concern, “Juvia is fine. Thank you for asking though, Lisanna-san.”

“There’s no need for the -san, Juvia. You can just call me Lisanna, or even just Lissy. That’s what my siblings and Bicks call me,” even as she spoke, the reassurance in her eyes never seemed to leave, “And you don’t have to be okay. Not everyone is okay 100% of the time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

There was a brief moment of silence as Juvia processed that. “You’re very kind, lisanna-s-... Lisanna.” Even if she had to correct herself, and likely would continue to have to, the blinding smile she got for dropping the honorific was more than worth it. “And even though Juvia is not quite okay, she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

Lisanna gently placed a hand on hers, and it took all of Juvia’s willpower not to melt under the kindness, “That’s okay, but if you have someone that you’d rather talk to about it, will you? It’s not good to bottle things up.”

“Of course,” Juvia responded. She didn’t want to lie to her like that, but there’s not a single person on the planet that she could see herself talking to about this. “Juvia will talk to them.” She felt guilty as she watched Lisanna’s shoulders drop a bit in relief,and even more so when she pat her hand gently before walking away. 

_ Can I do anything without screwing it up? _

\-------------

Juvia found herself still sitting at the bar later that evening instead of at home. After her interaction with Lisanna, she hadn’t felt compelled to leave quite yet, and instead chose to stay until closing to help. By that point the guild was mostly empty, the only stragglers being the usuals who stayed behind to help. There was soft singing somewhere in the back, a duet of some sort, and it made her wish she had chosen to stay before now.    
  
She snapped out of the trance she let herself get into when a gentle hand on her shoulder drew her attention, “Li-” A hand on her mouth quickly cut her off.

“Shhh.” Lisanna held a finger to her own lips and gestured for Juvia to follow as she moved the hand she’d placed on her mouth. Juvia nodded and followed her quietly back to the kitchen. 

Elfman entered and left the room at random, bringing in dishes that had been left by the guild’s patrons, and Mira would take them to wash. She was singing loudly, proud and confident in her voice. Once she had washed them, she would pass them to Natsu, who dried them and put them away. It was his voice that she had heard singing the slightly lower harmony in hushed tones, as if he were afraid to be loud. It was completely opposite from anything she’d ever expect from him. After a few minutes, Lisanna tugged her back out of the kitchen’s door way and out to the area just outside the guild. “That was…”

“Unexpected”” Lisanna prompted, “Yeah, I know. Natsu has some major anxiety issues. That’s why he’s always so antsy and ready to start fights in the guild. If he knows they’re all focused on each other, then he knows they  _ aren’t _ focused on him.” She smiled the same soft smile she had earlier, and Juvia’s heart fluttered.

There was a moment where nothing but the soft sounds of the night were heard, but it made Juvia’s thoughts so much louder, “Why are you telling Juvia this?”

Lisanna took her hand again gently, “Because sometimes it helps just to know that you’re not alone. Everyone in Fairy Tail deals with things, even those of us who are good at hiding it like Natsu is… you don't have to tell me what’s wrong, but… it looks like it’s weighing on you a lot… I don’t want you to have to suffer through that alone.”

“You’re very sweet...but this is different,” she whispered, “Juvia has to suffer alone.”

“No one has to suffer alone.” Lisanna stood up a little straighter, voice a little more firm. She moved Juvia’s hand to rest over the blue Fairy Tail mark on her thigh, “The second you got that, you became one of us, and we will  _ never _ let one of our own suffer, especially if we can help it.” After a moment she seemed to soften again, and there was a hand wiping away a tear from her cheek— _ When did I start crying? _

Acknowledging the tears only seemed to make it worse, but it didn’t matter. Lisanna had wrapped her arms around Juvia and held her close, just like in all the trashy romance novels Juvia recalled reading, and it was just as comforting as they had described. She felt at home, calm and happier than ever before. There was a gentle hand playing with the soft curls in her hair, and was all Juvia could have ever wanted in life. “J-Juvia is sorry… she got your shirt wet.”

A quiet laugh slipped from Lisanna’s thoat, “I don’t care about that, Juvia. I care that you look more relaxed now that you’ve let some of the tension out.”

“Lisanna is much nicer than most of the people Juvia has met…” It was an honest statement, but Juvia could see just how much it clued Lisanna in on her thought process. She pulls back from the embrace as she felt some of the bitterness come back, “people are cruel…”

Lisanna gently grabbed her hand again as she pulled away, a silent way of saying she’d listen if Juvia decided to speak, and she did. Juvia quietly whispered the horrors of her childhood and of Josè’s treatment of her and her guildmates, the crickets nearly drowning out her soft voice. “Juvia… You shouldn’t hold onto anything they said to you. None of it’s true.”

“Lisanna… You’re wrong,” Juvia shook her head, “Some of it is true.”

Lisanna frowned, “Bullshit. You're one of the strongest people I know just for putting up with that. And why the hell would they call you ugly?You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life, Juvia!” Her cheeks pinkened as she said it, but it was nothing compared to the raging blush on Juvia’s face.

“Because Juvia isn’t…” She shifted uncomfortably. She knew why they called her ugly.  _ But if Lisanna knew that, she'd hate Juvia just like they did. _

“Yes you are!” Lisanna cupped her face gently, and Juvia found it nearly impossible to pull away, “You’re gorgeous Juvia!”

Juvia felt the tears well up again, but there was no chance at hiding them nor stopping them, “Juvia is ugly because she was born a boy and will never be pretty like Lisanna and Lucy and Erza and all the other girls here-”

“Being born a boy doesn’t mean you’re an ugly girl and whoever told you that’s a fucking liar,” there was pure rage in her eyes now, but not a single drop od it was directed at Juvia, “Excuse my language Juvia, but the version of you I knew while I was trapped in Edolas was trans too, and it doesn’t change the fact that I’m such a dumbass, klutzy lesbian that I knocked over an _ entire table  _ when I saw her the first time, and you’re absolutely no different looks wise. You’re both  _ beautiful women  _ and if someone tries to say otherwise I would kick their ass if I didn’t know you’d get there before me! They-  _ oof- _ ” 

Juvia cut her off with the tightest hug she’s ever pulled anyone into, sobs wracking her body as she buried her face in Lisanna’s shoulder again. No one who knew Juvia was trans had  _ ever _ told her she was beautiful and meant it, and hearing it from Lisanna of all people had fully broken her down. She felt Lisanna hug her back tightly, and for once she didn’t feel like she was lying to someone. 

Lisanna kept whispering soft reassurances to her, even long after she had boneless against her. “I meant, you know… I really do think you’re beautiful. But you’re also so confident in your magic and a lot of other things, which is why it felt… wrong to see you frown like you did in the guild earlier… So I’m sorry if I pushed you, but I really wanted to help you be as happy as you deserve to be.” 

Juvia looked up at her slowly, still somewhat trapped in the idea that this is a dream, “You’re too sweet…”

Lisanna smiled and helped her stand back up, it had to be past two in the morning by now, “Thanks… it’s getting late though. You can get back to Fairy Hills okay, right?”

“Of course, but…” Juvia hesitated, “Juvia would like to pay you back. Can- can she take you somewhere? Tomorrow maybe?”   
  
Lisanna blushed brightly “You don’t have to pay me back for anything! I did that because I wanted to and I meant what I said so-”

“Juvia wants to.” Juvia’s face was just as pink as Lisanna’s, but she had wanted to do this even before tonight, “is later tomorrow night okay?”

“Y-yeahh, sure?” Lisanna nodded, but it looked like it was to convince herself it was happening more than to reassure Juvia.

Juvia smiles brightly, “And Lisanna?” She didn’t give her the chance to actually answer, choosing instead to peck her cheek, “Thank you.” She left before she saw her reaction too, but something—perhaps the sound of Lisanna’s overjoyed and startled laughter—told her everything would be just fine. 


End file.
